Michigan

Family and friends of the Grand Rapids Griffins sit and listen to speeches made during a celebration party at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The Grand Rapids Griffins won the Calder Cup Championship against the Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday, June 18.
(Lauren Petracca | MLive.com)

Ferraro would then spring into action, spraying Griffins personnel who happened to stroll by the team’s lockerroom. Innocent bystanders, who happened to get in Ferraro’s line of fire, were equally soaked.

And that was even before the party started.

Or was it just that the party from Tuesday night never ended?

The Griffins opened the Van Andel doors Wednesday, June 19, and celebrated the organization's first Calder Cup championship with their fans. Grand Rapids defeated Syracuse 5-2 in Game 6 Tuesday, giving the Griffins their only American Hockey League championship in the franchise’s 17-year history.

Team officials then quickly assembled the party, which was free of charge to attend, and it lasted about 45 minutes. Team officials estimated that about 4,000 fans joined in on Wednesday's celebration.

A stage was set up on the Van Andel floor, and one by one, team officials were introduced, including Griffins co-owner Dan DeVos and coach Jeff Blashill, who both spoke. Grand Rapids First Ward Commissioner Walt Gutowski also issued a proclamation honoring the team.

But the biggest cheer of the evening came when team captain Jeff Hoggan, who was the first Grand Rapids player to hit the stage, came walking out, hoisting the Calder Cup over his head. Hoggan, a 35-year old native of Hope, British Columbia, led the crowd in chant, ‘We got the Cup. We got the Cup.’

Hoggan then got serious.

‘We talked at the beginning of the year about earning it, and these boys earned it,” Hoggan said. "You the fans have earned this. This is spectacular. Take it in, baby."

Hoggan then introduced each player, and he got not-so-serious. Hoggan enjoyed poking fun at his teammates.

“This guy, he is not normal,” Hoggan said of Calder Cup Finals Most Valuable Player Tomas Tatar. “He was never on time, he never meets the dress code, but he shows up on the ice every night and he flipping dazzles.”

And then it came time to introduce Brennan Evans, who scored a late goal in Tuesday’s title clincher.

Luke Glendening, who joined the team in December, also received a big cheer. Glendening became the first Grand Rapids-area native to play for the Griffins in team history. Glendening, an East Grand Rapids graduate, came up big in the postseason, scoring a late goal in Grand Rapids’ 4-3 win against Toronto that game in its Game 6 clincher in the Western Conference semifinals.

“This is pretty special,” Glendening said prior to the ceremony. “But it’s not about me. I’m so proud of this team, it has been a special year. I know I have only been here for half the year, but it’s special for this team for sure.”

The Griffins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series against Syracuse, but they were unable to clinch the championship in Grand Rapids, losing the next two games. Grand Rapids still had the lead, 3-2, heading back to Syracuse, but the Crunch had the momentum.

“The ride home was a lot easier than the ride there,” Blashill said. “No one can accuse us of taking the easy route. It has been hard on our families. My mom has had multiple back surgeries, knee surgeries, hip surgeries, and she told me last night was the first time she went on her knees in a long, long time to pray.

“But as Chris Osgood said to me after Game 5, it’s not supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be hard. That’s why you feel so good when you win, and I can tell you, it feels great right now.”

It feels so good that DeVos said the Griffins want to do it again.

“Once you get a taste of drinking beer out of the Cup, like a lot of our guys did last night, there is nothing like that, and it makes you want to do it again," DeVos said. "With the support of our entire organization, I know that is what everybody is thinking and they will continue to do their very best to give us a team that we as fans and friends of the team and people of Grand Rapids and West Michigan can be proud of.”